Waitingawhile

Good luck with all

The system is changing and the 176 visa will no longer be available from 1st July. The equivalent is the 190 visa http://www.immi.gov.au/skills/skillselect/ there are major differences as you will need to place an expression of interest -EOI, then wait to be selected or apply to the state for sponsorship. To place an EOI you will need to have your successful skills assessment letter and IELTs results (if you dont hold a relevant passport and need to show evidence of English language skills) plus you will need to meet the points test with state sponsorship. Are you a recent student and did you study in Oz for 2 years? I ask as there may be a student graduate visa you could apply for instead which is the 485 visa- you always have the option of speaking to migration agent to run through your available options first! also when I applied to WA for State sponsorship I still needed my skills assessment letter and my Ielts results

I would say yes you need to look at which visa you are applying for to see what the criteria is.which visa is it.?

Fabulous to see you got it in!!!

Well done for not giving in. Sorry to hear the news. Thing is Val where there's a will there will be way in one way or another it may be worth seeing if she can either top up with another course or seeing if her skill set will also fit another occupation - or would she be a last remaining relative once your other daughter gets over? Sending :hug:

Thanks for posting this Alan

Good luck fingers toes and everything crossed for you

there are no stupid questions on here- you either get spnsored by a state or an employer not both!

It is the state sponsored and employer nominated list they have yet to publish it I anticipate it will be this weekend if on a states list you can apply to that state for sponsorship as long as you have put an expression of interest into disc I guess you will need ielts before you can do this

You wont be able to apply for 176 visas as they will cease to be accepted after 30th June full stop, the quote you give applies to a 485 visa which is an 18mth graduate visa for students still in oz who have a skill and have qualified from a 2 year course-some onshore visa applications are going to be accepted until Dec 2012, the new conditions will apply to new applicants for off shore visa form 1st july however wait for the sol 2 to be published before you loose heart, bricklayer was only removed from the independent and family sponsored list, we dont know about the state sponsored list yet! You can only apply for a 176 visa until 3oth june and can only do this is you have proof of skills in the form of a positive skills assessment, state sponsorship and proof of English skills and meet the current points test!

Hi you definitely have a case officer as on the 26/4/12 they sent you an email and your application began processing further- you have met all their requirements and your health docs were also finalized on 5/6/12. you are just waiting for decision now- I would suggest that you could email them to ask what the timescale it likely to be in receiving a decision and perhaps gently asking if there is any other info they require. just a word of caution you left your full names on the above and may wish to amend them.

http://www.migration.wa.gov.au/skilledmigration/Pages/SkilledMigrationWA.aspx Not unsurprisingly they have suspended applications form 12.00 28th to allow them to process any outstanding apps on the friday - SS is only valid until 30th June and they will reopen on 2nd July when an EOI will need to be made before you apply to WA for SS..

I think your friends have the right idea-gain an Australian qualification over two years and this will gain you extra points over an uk one, as you will get points for your diploma or whatever it is plus the fact you got it in two years in oz- by doing this it will give you access to applying for the 485 graduate route where you can work once qualified for 18 mths to build up points further- if you live and study in a regional area you will gain 5 points too -have a look at this visa and the new points test and you will be able to work out a good route in which you gain a skill and pay your way! You will also need to check that it is def 10 k for a semseter i suspect this amount is actually for the whole year! I think the future is opening up for you- I agree dont stress yourself out by committing fraud when you now have the chance of a perfectly good way in

Thanks for this info Wasif I had never heard of it before and will definitely look into it!

You could find work in lots of areas -think about community job settings/housing projects etc- however what agencies will be looking for is direct knowledge of the relevant contemporary therapeutic skills and underpinning knowledge around drug/alcohol work-it really depends what your educational background is too- and what your experience of working within community settings away from the controlled estates is. I know there is a cert iv you can do via tafe, and you can even start it on line but would need to gain practice experience. I found that in Oz they always want you to undertake their training first. Although they are going to call prison officers offender managers here the training is very different from that which community probation officers receive and the work in prisons is such a different type of specialism not least because of the tensions of working within a compulsory and restricted setting. I have a background in CJS and still had to do the OZ course, although I was sponsored because I already had the skills which are at a higher level than their training. If you chose to work within the prisons over there you would find it quite a different culture which is not necessarily bad just different and you would probs have to do their course so now could definitely be the time to look at your choices.

Hi http://www.dao.health.wa.gov.au/ this is a decent link on which you will find reference to various community services which you can also find by googling. The specific drug and alcohol jobs are not always that well paid and are often part time initially. Having knowledge of the needs of people of indigenous backgrounds is a must. There is lots of info to be found and once over there they will be very interested-in fact this is the way for most community jobs.

Sol 1 was for family sponsored and independent applications and sol 2 was the state sponsorship list- those with state sponsorship got priority! this is all changing although there will still be two lists- please see skillselect on Diacs site http://www.immi.gov.au/skills/skillselect/

I did it all myself- the automated email was just that automatic so it asked for info that I had already supplied as well -when I got the CO a lot of the requests were removed from the system straight away and yes I saw that it asked for certified copies but had already researched and found that colour photocopies were ok so please don't worry

I haven't any real hard advice as this is a big decision for you. I guess the reason why they won't take the Xray is to protect the baby, which is a good thing. Your wife will be going through all sorts of emotions being pregnant and so will you. This should be a very happy time for you...congratulations by the way, when is she due? I guess the worry about the small scar is probably feeling very intense right now-when I had an xray done in 2008 they thought they found something and it turned out to be nothing in end but for a few days it felt quite scary. In making the decision to go back and give up, you need to weigh up the pros and cons, try writing a list of all the plus's and negatives of staying in oz and do the same for moving back. Also speak to a few migration agents-reputable ones as named on this site who may have some suggestions to inform yours and your wifes decisions. It can be a hard fight to get to get PR and you are half way there. I guess also when you go through such a massive change you want to share it with family and will be missing them loads. Let us know what you decide!

Hi I just submitted scanned originals they did not need to be certified and have been accepted!

http://www.newsroom.immi.gov.au/media_releases/1063 to make it easier to find here it is!

Congratulations now the real work beigins :yes:

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/_pdf/updated-sol.pdf news starting to come through!

Bumping this up - was the agent mara registered? Really shocked this has happened to you and hoping someone can help. As this is the fault of the agent from what you say they should have known this and you may be able to get some recompense!

Thanks for replying lebourvellec. I was wondering if this was the case, and I was imagining that the state will only issue so many sponsorship's and then remove the skill, and it will only then become available again if the place is not taken up by a successful visa application? or do you think the states issue more SS than they have in their quota meaning some people may find their visa application halts midway through due the quota being filled towards the end of the year?